Saturday, March 31, 2012

Still working my way through BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Season Two, Part Two on DVD (Released: March 20, 2012) – and, in addition to the
wonderful episode I discussed HERE, I’ve found another one worth reviewing NOW – rather than waiting to do my (eventual)
full review of the set.

“The Criss Cross Conspiracy!”(…a title that, even after
seeing the episode twice, seems to have only a tenuous connection to the story
at hand)opens “Ten Years Ago”, with The Riddler raiding some sort of
“Puzzle-Awards Ceremony” and taking the prize.

Batman and young teen Robin are there to stop him – but
there is another Bat to contend with.

Batwoman – sultry brunette with classically styled hair, looking
exactly as she did in fifties and Silver Age comic books!Score another one for this show as a
magnificent monument to the vast lore of DC Comics!

In those comics, she was “Kathy Kane” (presumably, after
Batman creator Bob Kane) – but here she is bored heiress turned thrill-seeker, “Katrina
Moldoff”.

This is interesting in ways well beyond the plot!Sheldon Moldoff was one of Bob Kane’s “ghost
artists”, who never got credit for all his fine work of the period in which the
character of Batwoman thrived.So, as if
to balance things out, writer Marsha Griffin and the producers appear to have REMOVED
Bob Kane’s name (as it applied to the alter-ego of Batwoman), and APPLIED the
surname of Sheldon Moldoff!…How’s that for retroactive justice!

Katrina (somewhat recklessly) assists in the capture of The
Riddler – but not before she becomes careless and allows The Prince of Puzzlers
to UNMASK her before a crowd of onlookers and reporters… to her shock, horror,
and utter humiliation.Clearly, she is known as something of a public
figure or celebrity.

Things get worse for Katrina, when Gotham City soon files an
order against her, prohibiting her from dressing and acting as an unauthorized
crime-fighter, (…we’ll presume Batman had some sort of unofficial exemption
from Commissioner Gordon on this matter) and Katrina retires in
bitterness.

We shift forward, ten years to “The Present”:

Batman, Nightwing… and Batgirl (!) stop a bank robbery – and
are observed by Katrina, resentful that Batman has allowed another to assume
the role as his female counterpart.

Twisted by her anger, she seeks the assistance of FELIX
FAUST – the sorcerer from Silver Age “Justice League of America” comics, who
has served his time and is quietly operating a sorcery shoppe somewhere in the
nether regions of Gotham.

Faust is quite taken with the still-slinky Katrina, and
provides her with a potion and incantation that will allow her to (…Ready for
this?) SWITCH BODIES with the person of her choice.She lures Batman to her remote mansion and
does exactly that, overpowering him in the process!

She takes Batman’s uniform and awkwardly (auto) pilots the
Batmobile back to the Batcave.Nigthwing
and Batgirl become suspicious when Batman exhibits uncharacteristic (To say the
least!) hissy-fits – and asks Batgirl about her shampoo (!)

Things take a real turn when they learn that Katrina
(as Batman) plans to kill The Riddler for his decade-old deeds, and have Batman
appear to be the killer.Batman comes-to, dons Katrina’s old Batwoman
suit, and goes after her.Big bouts of
Bat-gender-bending ensue – with “he as she” and “she as he”!

“Riddle me this!”, says Katrina, catching up to her unsuspecting
prey – weapon in hand, “How do you stop The Riddler from ruining your Saturday
Night?”…“Kill him on Friday!”

No more spoilers – but I must note that the episode bears a
remarkable (…and likely not coincidental) resemblance to the STAR TREK Original
Series final episode “Turnabout Intruder” (1969) – right down to William
Shatner adopting feminine gestures and inflections, with Batman’s voice actor
(Dedrich Bader) and the episode’s animators following suit.

A surprising amount of humor springs from Felix Faust, who
amorously peruses Batwoman – even after it becomes Bat-MAN in her body!…This sets up one hell of a great final line
of dialogue!

Oh, just see it!(No
matter HOW many times you’ve seen the “Body Switching” thing in animation!)You’ll be glad you did, especially when you
pick yourself up off the floor at the episode’s fadeout!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Summary:Can earnest sincerity best the facade of
class – even in a backstabbing, cutthroat profession?Just ask James Cagney! He’d know…

We open with stock shots of various disasters involving
speedboats, trains, ships, airplanes, and even race horses, yielding fatal
results.Driving this home are newspaper
headlines mourning the deaths of tycoons and other important figures with one
linking detail – each has died without a clear and apparent heir to his
fortune.

We’ll let Cagney’s character “James Corrigan”,
self-described “Genealogist” and two-bit investigator, take it from here:

“Lyin’ around in banks, all over the country, is a
lotta money!Millions o’ dollars! Wills
and legal heirs that can’t be found!Well, I find ‘em!An’ for
a small commission – never more than 50 % -- I put ‘em in touch!”

Understand that some of these “heirs” may or may not necessarily be rightful heirs, and you have
the premise of our story.

That, and the scrappy, street-level Corrigan’s chief rival
in this shady endeavor is the outwardly sophisticated (but inwardly more scummy
than Corrigan) Charles Wallingham – and that Corrigan’s former girlfriend (…and
the gal he loves) Joan Martin has left Corrigan’s employ (and life) to work for
the seemingly aboveboard Wallingham.

Joan (Bette Davis) would like to leave the crass Corrigan
and his shady little business behind for the more cultured Wallingham, who
utters lines like:

“I must confess I
get quite a glow when I think of some superannuated spinster, or poor harassed
little clerk, to whom we shall bring the glad tidings that they’ve suddenly
come into a great fortune.”

Once the set-up is established, the bulk of the film is
divided into two main plots:(A:) A convoluted rivalry between
Corrigan and Wallingham to get different individuals named the legal heir of a
dumpster woman who died with a coat lined with stocks, bonds, cash, and jewels.(B:)Corrigan’s attempts to win back Joan by
becoming a sophisticate – hence the title “Jimmy the Gent”.

We’ll leave you to root out the details of each plotline
on your own, and suffice it to say that, like any James Cagney film, examples
of lively physicality and great dialogue abound.Here are some instances of the latter:

Corrigan mobilizes
his staff to chase down disasters and deaths; in the hope some profit can be
made.

CORRIGAN:“Mike, you go down to CivilHospital!They
just brought in an old bachelor!

MIKE:“Is he dead?”

CORRIGAN:“No, but he WILL BE!The
doctor that tipped me off is OPERATIN’ on ‘im!”

Joan shows us just
how little trust she has in Corrigan.

CORRIGAN:“I’d give my RIGHT EYE…”

JOAN:“It’ll turn out to be GLASS!”

Corrigan tries to
impress Joan, and become more intellectually sophisticated, like
Wallingham.He gestures toward a new
fixture in his office.

JOAN:“Why, you idiot!It isn’t
a FIFTEEN FOOT SHELF!It’s a FIVE FOOT SHELF!”

CORRIGAN:“Dat’s for ORDINARY people!I
bought THREE o’ dem!”

Additional oddities:Being still early in the Warner Bros. cannon, and like Cagney’s earlier
hit “The
Public Enemy”, it begins with “Warner
Bros. Pictures and the Vitaphone Corp. Present: [with the WB Shield
superimposed over the Vitaphone Pennant].

Also, like Warner films of similar vintage, every featured
character in the film is introduced by a non-still pose, with both the name of
the actor and the character he or she plays prominently displayed.In older films, I often have difficulty in
determining “who-is-who” beyond the obvious star performers.This is a nice way to remedy that – and I
wish it would have been employed more often.

“Jimmy
the Gent” is a release of “The Warner Archive Collection”.Please GO HERE to read more about this
relatively new enterprise from Warner Home Entertainment..

As is our custom in these reviews, we’ll break it into CONS
and PROS.

The CONS:

It’s Warner Archives:That means virtually nothing in the way of Extra
Features. No Commentary track, no subtitles, no background or “Making Of”
featurette. No “Warner
Night at the Movies” that I’ve loved so much in other
packages!And, there is a needlessly limited
choice of devices on which to play it, vs. standard DVD.But, there ARE slight improvements over
previous TWAC product, as you will see in the “PROS” section.

The PROS:

It’s Warner Archives:That means we get a film that would probably not
garner sufficient support for a general release.Given a choice between “Jimmy
the Gent” as a Warner Archive Collection release, or no release at all,
I’ll gladly take a TWAC version. And,
they HAVE made certain improvements over previous releases – noted below:

Robo-Promos:“Robo-Promos” is my term for advertisements that play automatically
before you even reach the initial menu.There
are NO “Robo-Promos” on this set, in contrast with virtually ALL of the earlier
Warner Archive sets.Good for you,
Warner Archives!

Menu: (Singular):A nice departure from the old
standard, stark dark blue Warner Archives menu.To the left, there is an attractive photo of “The Warner Bros. Theatre”
(Was there actually such a thing?), with the marquee reading: “Now Playing: Jimmy the Gent”, and a
large image of the DVD box cover (ALSO more nicely designed than the older
“dark blue” packages) is pictured on the right of the menu. Double good for
you, Warner Archives!

The options to
“Play Trailer” and “Play Movie” are offered on this single menu.

Scene Selections / Chapter Skip:Again, TWAC has made improvements in what was a deficiency in earlier
releases.Those releases were authored
to only move forward or backward in TEN-MINUTE INTERVALS – regardless of
where that ten minute jump will land you logically within the story.For “Jimmy the Gent” and certain other
more recent releases, the selections fall more logically within the story, even
if they aren’t pictured or listed on a “Scene Selection Menu”.Triple good for you, Warner Archives!

The Extra Feature (Singular): Theatrical Trailer for
“Jimmy the Gent”:(02:24)

Cue the usual
on-screen hype:

“He’s the BIGGEST CHISLER since Michael
Angelo! [sic]”Over an caricature of
a robed Cagney carving a dollar sign on a stone tablet.

“Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves were
pikers…compared to this red-headed son-of-a-gun!”

JAMES CAGNEY.“JIMMY THE GENT”.

“Jimmy the Gent is on the hunt for blondes,
but here’s one blonde he can’t catch up with – Bette Davis!”

“Meet Jimmy’s pals – just a couple of boids
in a gilded cage: Allen Jenkins and Alice White.”

JENKINS: “Honey, you deviate me!”

WHITE:“(Giggle!)
You say the cutest things!”

[ Joe’s Note:
Oddly, this scene (and these lines) are NOT in the movie!I checked twice! A cut scene, perhaps? ]

“He’s the classy, sassy gentleman the girls
adore… A poifect Beau Brummel, with
just a dash of caveman!”

“James (“Honey Boy”) Cagney at his fastest!
Freshest! Funniest!”

The Film:Another entertaining interlude
with James Cagney!Does the man EVER let
us down?!

The Depression-Era urban setting (New York) was the Warner
Bros. stock in trade and they do it typically well, even in what amounts to a
lesser film for Cagney.

The Cast:

·James Cagney as “James Corrigan”.

·Bette Davis as “Joan Martin”.

·Alan Dinehart as “Charles Wallingham”.

·Allen Jenkins as “Louie”.

·Alice White as “Mabel”.

·Arthur Hohl as “Joe Rector”.

·Mayo Methot as “Gladys Farmer”

·Hobart
Cavanaugh as “Wellington”.(Phony
Southern Heir)

Overall:

Okay, so “Jimmy the Gent” may not be the
greatest of Cagney’s films… but that’s because the bar is set SO HIGH!

But, taken on its own, it’s good fun – and, at a
remarkably short length of 1:07:29, the great Warner director Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca”,
“Captain
Blood”, “Yankee Doodle Dandy”) must have directed it on a lunch
break!

“Jimmy the Gent”
was based on the story “The Heir Chaser”, by Larry Doyle and Ray
Nazarro.

As a product of “The
Warner Archive Collection”, and not a standard Warner Home Video release,
it must be reviewed and rated by a new and different set of standards.The now-standard deficiencies are known, but
we must give TWAC some points for making a few improvements over past
releases.Those improvements are not just
specific to “Jimmy the Gent”, but seem to be an across-the-board effort at
upgrading the product line as a whole. Other releases of the same general time
frame can boast similar improvements.

“Jimmy the Gent”
is recommended for fans of James Cagney, Bette Davis, urban Depression-Era
settings in general, and for those fascinated with the time period and its
filmmaking.

“Emperor Joker” was a weekly chapter, multi-part story that
occurred in the SUPERMAN comic book titles back in the year 2000, when DC
Comics were still the best!

In it, The Joker steals the vast fifth-dimensional powers of
Mister Mxyzptlk and uses them to warp reality in his own twisted image.

Naturally, I thought:Here’s where we get both Superman and Mxy to cross over into BATMAN: THE
BRAVE AND THE BOLD.No luck there, alas.

Instead, we got something just as good – if not better!Another – and unexpected – appearance of
Bat-Mite!!!(Awesome-Sauce!)And, it is Bat-Mite’s powers that the Joker wields!

Bat-Mite was a character that DC Comics fans sort of held in
the same regard generally reserved for the likes of Scrappy-Doo!I get the general idea, but I could never
understand why Mister Mxyzptlk was so popular and Bat-Mite was not, as they are
essentially the same character – one a prankster, the other a cosmic
“fanboy”!Ya know, I think I might have
answered my own question. That seeing yourself in the mirror thing.

Nevertheless, BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD did more for
turning-around B-M’s image (…um, can I CALL him “B-M” in a family Blog?) than
decades of comic books could ever do.Same, to a lesser degree, for Aquaman!We LOVE those guys, now!

Casting Bat-Mite (…I’ve decided not to call him “B-M”, after
all!) in the role of Mxy was a masterstroke – because the “transfer of powers”
occurs accidentally, and with the best of intentions!

Bat-Mite, whenever he appears (…and the producers ARE very
careful not to overuse him), is a riot.Here, he reads from an ACTUAL copy of DC Comics 1985 “WHO’S WHO” series
(Yes, the comic is realistically pictured! See Below!), to get the scoop on an obscure
villain Batman is fighting.

In a line of dialogue that will have amazing repercussions
in the future he refers to Batman’s “reality” as a “show”!Stay
tuned a few months down the line for more on that!

…And he releases The Joker from Arkham Asylum, just so
Batman will have an A-List villain to fight!

Bat-Mite’s “shrine” to the great Batman / Joker duels of the
past includes images ofa Golden Age
cover battle with playing cards, “The Laughing Fish”, “The Joker’s Five-Way
Revenge”, “The Joker’s Utility Belt”… and even Batman holding the dead body of
Jason Todd Robin to represent “A Death in the Family”!!!(“Guess how *I* voted!”, Bat-Mite remarks!)

In the ensuing fight, The Joker inadvertently becomes all
powerful – and, as in the original comic book story, devises ways to kill
Batman… over and over again without end.He kills him (!), resurrects him, and keeps killing him again!

He also creates a “Joker-Mite” (picture a mash of The Joker
and the sinister doll of the cinema: “Chucky”) to bedevil the now-powerless
Bat-Mite!

There’s only one way to end this reality-molding madness
and, as only he can, Batman figures it out.

Along the way we get Joker henchmen that resemble
Black-and-White versions of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and
Fatty Arbuckle… I’ll assume it’s Fatty Arbuckle, and not Oliver Hardy, because
there is no “Stan Laurel” and he does not have Hardy’s trademark mustache!

There’s also a “Silver Age” version of Harley Quinn!!!Yes, we know there was NO Silver Age version
of Harley Quinn… but that’s what Harley WOULD have looked and acted like in the
Silver Age.She is also reminiscent of
Jean Harlow in THIS CLASSIC GANGSTER FILM!

The Joker, himself, is a magnificent Dick Sprang inspired model, with a perfect voice by Jeff Bennett (Johnny Bravo) to match the visual!

This version of “Emperor Joker” is yet another triumph for
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD!And an
unusual one because it uses a contemporary DC comic book story (…and a GREAT
ONE, at that) for its base – and still manages to instill it with the series’
signature Silver Age sensibilities!

“Emperor Joker” is a
MUST-SEE for all fans of any era of DC Comics lore!